Shrub poisoned zoo monkeys

William MullenTribune staff reporter

This story contains corrected material, published July 13, 2005.

A two-month outside investigation of animal deaths at Lincoln Park Zoo found the zoo generally acted appropriately but revealed troubling, previously unpublicized circumstances in the May deaths of three langur monkeys and Wankie the elephant.

The report by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association said the monkeys apparently were poisoned by leaves from a yew shrub--known to be toxic to primates--growing just outside the exhibit. Zoo director Kevin Bell said it was "a serious oversight" that veterinarians did not conduct a review of all plants in the area (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text).

Investigators also found flaws in the transport of Wankie, 36, who was euthanized May 1 within hours of arriving by truck at the Salt Lake City zoo from Lincoln Park. Though the truck traveled through subfreezing weather on parts of the trip, there was no heat in the transport crate and the driver ignored a veterinarian's request to install a protective tarp.

In no instance, however, did investigators find that actions by zoo staff members contributed to the animal deaths, zoo chairman Jay Proops said at a news conference Monday.

Proops had asked the AZA to audit the zoo's animal care and management practices in May after a rising tide of animal rights protests over the last year. Three female African elephants died in that time, as well as the three langurs, two gorillas, a camel, a dairy cow, an infant marmoset and a lion cub.

After the monkeys died, Bell offered to resign, but the board asked that he remain pending results of the AZA investigation. On Monday, Proops said the results exonerate Bell.

"Kevin continues to have my--and the board's--full support," said Proops. "There is nothing in this report for me or the board to ask for Kevin's resignation or to accept it."

Bell had offered to leave, Proops said, amid charges of mismanagement "by an animal rights group that asked for his ouster. This radical animal rights organization has as one of its goals the closing of all zoos. This organization doesn't even want you to own household pets, cats and dogs."

Debbie Leahy, a director for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal rights group that demanded Bell's ouster, said the audit was a zoo industry undertaking and not really independent. Another investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not been completed, she noted.

"We don't think this report comes close to exonerating [the zoo]," said Leahy. "The AZA and Lincoln Park Zoo may be trying to gloss over their deficiencies, but these are clearly very serious problems."

Addressing the animal deaths, the investigators concluded that "in most instances" the zoo's "treatments reflected best veterinary practice and the deaths were not unexpected."

It cited old age in the deaths of Peaches the elephant and Kumba the gorilla, and said the other gorilla, Mumbali, died of an illness that was appropriately treated. It termed the marmoset death and the amputation of a gibbon's arm after getting stuck in mesh fencing "simply unfortunate accidents."

The bactrian camel died of a gastro-intestinal illness, said the report. A defective heart killed the lion cub three days after being born last December, it said. The milk cow had shown strong indications of suffering tuberculosis and was euthanized June 29, 2004, in accordance with USDA policy, said the report, though post-mortem tests did not find the disease.

The most troubling death to the investigators seemed to be that of Wankie, the elephant that died after transport to the Utah zoo.

All three of the zoo's elephants arrived in 2003 from San Diego Wild Animal Park. When Wankie and another elephant, Tatima, died they were in the end stages of a disease that had not been seen before in elephants, a lung infection caused by Mycobacterium szulgai.

After the deaths of Peaches and Tatima, officials at both San Diego and Lincoln Park, as well as AZA elephant authorities, decided Wankie, who appeared to be in general good health, should join the elephant herd at Hogle Zoo in Utah.

The San Diego park provided the same animal transportation specialist that brought Wankie from California to Chicago.

The report noted that three days before the move Wankie had a bout of colic (upset stomach) and questioned if it was wise to transport her so soon after. Lincoln Park officials also were unaware until the trip was under way that the heater supplied for Wankie's crate was "not compatible" with the crate, and that "no heat could be provided," the report said.

And the report made clear that there was a breakdown in the lines of authority on the trip.

As the truck traveled west, temperatures dropped into the 30s and then into the 20s in Wyoming. Kathryn Gamble, Lincoln Park's chief veterinarian, was traveling with the elephant and asked at several points that a tarpaulin be put over the crate for extra protection from the weather, but the animal transport specialist who was driving objected.

The tarp was finally put in place in Rawlings, Wyo., with less than five hours of travel time left.

Wankie visibly weakened during the trip, kneeling and finally lying down in the crate. At Sidney, Neb., the truck pulled off at a county fairgrounds where the Denver Zoo had arranged to send a hoist capable of lifting her out of the crate.

Bell said it proved impossible to remove Wankie at that point because the fairgrounds had no suitable holding area for her and doing so would violate federal regulations.

Eight hours after she arrived at Hogle Zoo, Wankie's condition was so bad that she was euthanized. The post-mortem examination found the mycobacterial infection had destroyed 30 percent of her lungs. "Debilitation related to chronic disease coupled with ... stress of shipping may have been sufficient to cause collapse," said the post-mortem.

The investigators said it was unclear if the cold truck may have contributed. "The audit team is unable to ascertain how much of a factor the air temperature was in this case," it said.

Based on the investigation, the AZA is recommending several changes in elephant transport procedures, including mandating written agreements establishing lines of responsibility when two or more institutions are involved. It also recommended that transport crates be provided with monitors to log temperatures.

In the case of the langurs, the report also recommended removal of all toxic plants on zoo grounds. Bell acknowledged the oversight and said that has already been done.

"We had kept our gibbons in that enclosure for 14 years without incident, and we had no idea there was a danger when we placed the langurs in there," Bell said.

Ten years ago the zoo told its grounds crews to give lists of any new plants to be placed on zoo grounds to the veterinary department for review for possible toxicity but failed to catalog plants already on the grounds.

"It is impossible to ascertain whether the langurs were able to grab the plant themselves or leaves were given to them," the zoo said in a printed release.

Bell also said the zoo will add a new animal management committee to provide oversight on all zoo policy and procedures and will hire a general curator who will supervise the zoo's curatorial staff.